Barry Stevens may have started Hilton Magic, but it will be Jeff Grayer who must continue the tradition. Grayer, Iowa State’s all-time leading scorer, will help run a celebrity basketball game in honor of the fallen star who died of a heart attack in February.

“We started talking about how we could actually do two things,” Grayer said. “One, give support to his family, and then the second thing was to create awareness of heart attack, high blood pressure, cholesterol checkups and all those things. That’s where I came up with the idea to put on this event as a tribute to Barry.”

The tribute he came up with was the first annual ISU Hilton Magic All-Star Celebrity Basketball Game, which will take place July 21 and include a roster of players ranging from a number of eras, including everyone from Grayer and Ron Harris, to Fred Hoiberg and Jamaal Tinsley. Grayer said the game will be a perfect opportunity not only to educate individuals about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but also to provide fans a unique opportunity to see players they’ve never had the chance to see before.

“A lot of them won’t be able to jump as high or run as fast, but some of the moves, some of the gestures that they make on the court, I guarantee you the younger generation will be able to clearly understand what their parents were talking about,” Grayer said.

Former ISU assistant coach Jim Hallihan said the game is a great tribute to Stevens, who, he believed, was one of the catalysts in starting Hilton Magic with his dominating performances in 1983 against No. 10 Missouri and then-defending Big Ten champions Minnesota. Stevens’ 40-point effort against Missouri, which included a game-winning jump shot just as time expired, helped etch his name in Cyclone history.

“That name hasn’t always been there,” Hallihan said. “Something had to happen to create that term Hilton Magic and I really do believe that those two games his sophomore year is what established Hilton Magic.”

While fans will be watching players from the past, Grayer said he’ll spend most of the time reminiscing about Stevens, who he grew up idolizing in Flint, Mich. Stevens, who finished his Cyclone career at 2,190 points, played one season in high school and one in college with Grayer, who eventually passed Stevens on the all-time scoring list. That short amount of time together developed into what became a lifelong friendship that even saw Grayer marrying Stevens’ sister.

“Barry to me was a friend, he was a brother, he was a partner, and he was a mentor as well,” he said. “That kind of sums it up for me.”

Hallihan even saw the friendship developing throughout high school.

“What was real obvious was that Jeff looked to Barry to be the leader,” Hallihan said. “I remember, when we recruited Jeff, that his coach said, ‘Jeff will be your leader, but he’ll step aside and follow Barry until he’s gone, and then he’ll be your leader.'”

Grayer hopes to pack Hilton Coliseum one last time for a fight against an opponent outside of the Big 12.

“We want to be able to keep this going because we want to create awareness, we want to give knowledge to younger kids and encourage them not only to play basketball but to strive for a good education at the same time,” Grayer said.